Making your first batch of moula and beginning to walk towards the First Level of Freedom (Guild subscribers, y’know what I’m talking about) is NOT as hard as you think.

And you certainly don’t need so much as a fifth of what most people doling out business advice will tell you.

To that, here’s a completely incomplete list of things you definitely do NOT need to start making money online.

1. A social media account on every platform under the sun.

To be clear: I’m talking about the early days of your business building mission here.

The people making serious cash from social media (typically) built their following BEFORE monetizing it.

So, when you’re just starting out, and (probably) don’t know much—if any—direct response marketing, you’re going to be pouring a lot of energy into social media for very little return.

If I were doing it all over again, I’d turn to my existing network, and apply the three things that you DO need in order to start making sales (more on these beloooooow).

2. A funnel.

A funnel doesn’t work without a steady, reliable stream of traffic. And if you’re just kicking things off, I’ll bet the entirety of my tattoo fund that you don’t have that.

Before you think about tunnels and funnels, focus on the three things I’m going to share with you in a moment.

But first, the last thing you do NOT need…

3. A website.

Yes…you do not need a website to start making money online.

6 weeks before I was due to launch the website for ye old fitness business (MASSthetics), I had 3 coaching clients paying me ~$225 per month.

It took me months after making the switch to freelance copywriting before I had a website to that effect, and I’d argue I really didn’t need to make one at all.

So, how did I do it?

Here’s the not-so-secret trick to making money online without stretching yourself over every social media platform, investing thousands of doubloons into a website, and wasting hours building a funnel for crickets…

You need THREE things:

1. A market of people with a problem they want to solve.

2. An offer (aka product/service) that can help said market with their problem.

3. A receptive way to get your offer in front of that market.

And you can leverage the absurd amount of FREE reach and tools the internet has to offer to do so.

Here’s a way to think differently about this:

This very email list began when I was running a free Facebook group for fitness professionals to help them get articles published on well-known industry websites.

I made a whopping two posts on my personal FB page about the group and it’s benefits, made sharing your email address with me a requirement to join the group, and started sending regular emails (2-3x week at first, then moved up to daily) around becoming a better writer, which set things up perfectly to eventually launch Email Imagery.

To be clear:

— I found a group of online fit pros who wanted to write more and be published more (a market with a problem)

— I helped them become better writers and get their message out on well-trafficked websites (I helped for free, gave value, or whatever you want to call it)

— I leveraged relentless email followup to build a relationship while I created a product around their desires

— $$$

I had the world’s leakiest funnel.

There was absolutely no way of finding out about the group or my list aside from seeing those two posts or being referred by someone in the group.

Was it optimal?

Hell no.

Did I make money via the internet without using all the fancy shit people try to sell you on day one?

Absolutely, AND I (unknowingly) laid the foundation for the email list I have today, and The Sorcerers Guild.

Speaking of which –

The next issue of The Sorcerers Guild newsletter is going to show you (using examples) how to build a low-stress email-based business to unlock your first level of freedom (financial) and fund your worldbuilding adventures.

To ensure you’re on the list before I send it to my Scribe, saddle up and ride with The Sorcerers Guild here:

http://sorcerersguildnewsletter.com/

Yours sorcerously,

Alexander Mullan